NEWS

The latest news and updates from Low Carbon Hub

  • News story

    Year two of CAPZero implementation begins – so how did we do in year one?

    16 June 2025
    Our Community Action Plan for Zero-Carbon Energy (CAPZero) is the first of its kind in the UK. It models how a cluster of communities in West Oxfordshire can create a zero-carbon energy system in their local area, in a way that benefits everyone. It is a plan developed by community representatives together with energy system…
  • Year two of CAPZero implementation begins – so how did we do in year one?

    Our Community Action Plan for Zero-Carbon Energy (CAPZero) is the first of its kind in the UK. It models how a cluster of communities in West Oxfordshire can create a zero-carbon energy system in their local area, in a way that benefits everyone. It is a plan developed by community representatives together with energy system…
    16 June 2025
  • Community Benefit Increased for Botley West, but is it enough?  

    In a significant step forward, the developers of the proposed Botley West Solar Farm have more than doubled their community benefit funding, from £200,000 a year to £440,000 per year. This increase follows sustained local pressure, vocal advocacy and the success of our Make Botley West Fair campaign. While it is a clear improvement on…
    11 June 2025
  • A collage of pictures of Low Carbon Hub grant funded projects.

    Low Carbon Hub Community Grants Fund 2024 – 2025 

    It takes commitment, creativity, and hard work to run a thriving community group, but it’s inspiring and rewarding to witness the breadth of exciting events and programmes created by our community groups to reduce the effects of climate change. Low Carbon Hub’s vibrant community groups are at the heart of our work, and we are…
    4 June 2025
  • Sandford Hydro gets an upgrade

    Upgrades to our pioneering Sandford Hydro installation have increased its generation by over 17% in 2024/25. To address reduced generation during periods of low river flow when the screws cannot operate, we have covered the whole south-facing part of the plant in solar PV panels. This ensures the site can generate clean energy even when…
    30 May 2025
  • Oseny island, House photos by Richard Cave

    Why we are using LETI as the standard for low carbon housing

    If we’re serious about cutting carbon emissions from our homes, we need a clear plan for building better. That means well-insulated houses that use clean energy – without being ridiculously expensive or difficult to build. There are different ways to set standards for this, but not all of them work well in the real world.
    12 May 2025
  • A large group of people around a table discussing community energy.

    Community Energy – Challenges and Solutions Event

    Community groups are taking the lead by putting people at the heart of their vision for a just energy transition, exploring options to develop community scale energy projects that benefit everyone in their area. This year community energy has been a particular focus for four of our community groups who have successfully applied for grant…
    12 May 2025
  • Blenheim: A legacy of leadership

    Our Make Botley West Solar Farm Fair campaign is urging Blenheim Estate, the principal land owner of the proposed Botley West Solar Farm, one of the UK’s largest planned solar developments, to use their influence to push for a fairer community benefit deal from the project developers. In a public document and open letter that…
    6 May 2025
  • Petition: Tell Blenheim Estate to make Botley West Solar Farm Fair

    Why Botley West matters to the whole UK

    Our Make Botley West Solar Farm Fair campaign is focused on ensuring that the UK’s largest proposed solar farm delivers real and lasting benefits to the local communities that will host it. But this isn’t just an Oxfordshire issue, it’s a national one. Across the UK, many more large-scale solar developments are in the pipeline.…
    30 April 2025
  • At Low Carbon Hub, we don’t usually run campaigns. But just this once, we felt we had to.

    We’ve launched our first campaign. Here’s why it matters.

    Low Carbon Hub isn’t a campaigning organisation. Except – we are, just this once. We’ve launched Make Botley West Solar Farm Fair, a petition calling for a much stronger community benefits package from the developers of the proposed Botley West Solar Farm in Oxfordshire. We’re not campaigning for or against the project itself. We know there are a…
    3 April 2025
  • A group of stall holders at the Sustainable Wantage Clean Heat & Free Cake event.

    Clean Heat and Free Cake

    Can homemade cake and a small grant from Low Carbon Hub play a part in developing a zero-carbon future energy system?  The answer is yes! As demonstrated by Sustainable Wantage, who used a small grant from Low Carbon Hub to stage their ‘Clean Heat and Free Cake’ event on Saturday, 8 March at the Beacon…
    13 March 2025
  • A modern housing complex with solar panels on the roof.

    What is the Grid Edge?

    The ‘grid edge’ is, simply, where we all live, work and play – where the physical infrastructure of our energy system reaches us in our day-to-day lives. We often talk about the grid edge at Low Carbon Hub, but why is it so important? And why is the grid edge changing? Life at the edge…
    10 March 2025